Ramadan Riots in Sweden

Frontpagemag/Little Green Footballs ^ | 10-9-06 | Charles Johnson

[SJackson]

LGF reader Enlil from Gothenburg, Sweden, sent the following disturbing note:

Tonight there were power shortages all over Sweden’s second largest city, Gothenburg. “Youth gangs” took the opportunity, spreading the European tradition of “Ramadan Riots.” Within an hour most schools and commercial centers in the north eastern suburbs were vandalized.

- It’s complete chaos in north eastern Gothenburg. “We’ve sent all available police units but there’s no way we can stop the vandalisation,” police spokesman Frank Karlsson tells gp.se.

- Several youth gangs are wandering about smashing windows and breaking into schools, malls, banks and a retirement center.

Not a word about this on the wires...

UPDATE: It’s on the front page of Aftonbladet, and here’s the linked story in Swedish: Vag av skadegörelse i Göteborg.

[BlackVeil]

Thanks for the insights, WCulture. Like you, I hope that these problems change over the next generation, but there is no guarantee that they will.

I agree with SJackson's point that The risk, of course, is that a deprived economic class dependent on the state provides fertile ground for radicalism. A problem the US faces as well.

Yes, and France and other countries which now have minorities who are not economically integrated. The reasons for this are multiple. There does seem to be, as WCulture indicates, particular issues with African immigrants, multiple factors which do not seem to apply with Bosnian, Lebanese, Iranians etc.

A point to consider, is that Nigerian immigrants to Britain have an entirely different profile, and many more entrenched problems, than Ugandan immigrants to Britain. This is because the "Ugandans" - a notably successful community, are ethnic Indians, who were expelled by Idi Amin during the 1970s. It is interesting to look at Israel, also. They now have an underclass of African immigrants, who are more, not less, likely to be long-term-unemployed and involved in crime during the second generation. The more rapid integration experiences by other third world Jewish communities does not fully apply in their case.

[WesternCulture]

While I think it's necessary to distinguish between immigrant issues of France, Britain, Germany, Southern Europe and Scandinavia, as well as I feel there's a need for more distinctions being made more often between different categories of muslims (something a lot of freepers need to put more effort into), I also DO admit that there is a GENERAL conflict between "christian" and "muslim" segments of Europe.

European "muslims" are, in general, weaker in every social/economical aspect than "native" europeans. Poorer and weaker members of any given society are seldom satisfied with their social position and most often they are reluctant of blaming themselves of their shortcomings in this area. This is the root of several ethnically based (if they really are to be called ETHNICALLY based ones at all) conflicts in European societal life and in this sense, the problem is a common one to all of Europe.

In Sweden, being one of the richest countries of Europe and also a country where wealth is very equally distributed, ethnical/social problems at a first glance appear lesser than in a relatively poor part of Europe like, say Portugal, but in Sweden immigrant youngsters growing up in areas no native swedes want to live in still feel socially inferior to people of his/her age, regardless of the fact that his/her father might drive a nice SUV, just like the dads of native swedish kids.

The North East Gothenburg teens in question need to find an identity of their own that offer them a sense of pride, but being the immigrant offspring in the poorest part of town doesn't provide them with anything like that, so why not try and impress your homies by throwing stones at the police..

Hopefully they'll one day come to the conclusion that working for a succesful company and earning some nice cash isn't that very bad after all.

Volvo, Ericsson, SKF, Astra Zeneca and several other companies active in good old Gothenburg are hiring...

[unspun]

Outrageous. No mention of Muslims nor Islam here:

http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=5155&date=20061009

Gothenburg power cut sparks vandalism

Published: 9th October 2006 09:58 CET

A gang of youths threw stones at police and vandalised buildings during a power cut in Gothenburg on Sunday night. Nobody has been arrested but police say they are working on a number of leads.

Around 50,000 households in the Hisingen and north-eastern parts of the city were left without electricity at around 9.30pm. By midnight the power was back on.

Train traffic around Gothenburg stood still and suburban trains were also affected.

During the blackout a gang of youths in the north-eastern quarters of the city went out and began to vandalise buildings. Windows of a bank and shopping centre were smashed in Hällbo, while a number of schools in Angered were also targeted.

A large number of police officers were sent to deal with the disturbance, but the youths turned on them, hurling stones in the dark.

None of the youths were taken into custody or arrested for the damage, and nobody was injured.

On Monday morning it appeared that the damage was far less serious than initially feared.

The cause of the blackout was a fault in an electricity station in Lärde, combined with a simultaneous failure in a transformer in Stenkullen.

By 8am on Monday, police had received 14 reports of damaged property.

"We reckon that more will come in during the day," said Malin Sahlström at Gothenburg police.

Police were first alerted to the vandalism just a few minutes after the power cut began, as people called in reporting the sound of glass being smashed in Angered.

As soon as the lights came on again the group of youths split up.

TT/The Local

[unspun]

Would the Swedish press be honest about who the perpetrators were, if they were some weird offshoot cult that called themselves "Christian?"

[LukeL]

Come Christmas we go to Chruch and pray for our souls, come Passover Jews pray silently in their homes with their family. Come Ramadan its like L.A. 1992 all over again.

[lndrvr1972]

Power outages. Yep sounds as if they want a Muslim enviornment.

[Not just another dumb blonde]

You mean the Swedes have a military? I thought they were second in command of the white flag, the first being France, of course.

[RogerFGay]

Actually, the people who blame everything on the Jews typically belong to the European left, all over Europe, not just specifically in Sweden. Many on the extreme left tend to be generally pro-terrorist and pro-dictatorship along with being anti-west. You find that in the U.S. as well.

The Swede's just elected a center-right government to replace the center-left government that's been in power for the past 12 years. (Actually, it was run by the Social Democrats mostly, but with more extreme left coalition partners required to get a majority.)

Analysts say the top concern was economy and employment. I sense that immigration was an issue of concern as well. More than just sense -- especially in the south of the country, far right parties made large gains in local politics. I've even spoken with people who voted for the right (just far enough right), at least partly based on their sense that immigration wasn't under control. They wanted the left out, even though they generally voted left.

It's an odd and complicated thing, trying to understand "the Swedes." Like anywhere else, the whole population includes a diversity of feelings and opinions on everything. Like anywhere else, it's hard to get a real sense of "the people" from watching television or listening to politicians.